The Fallen
by Nyarghh
Summary: He was scared. He thought he was alone in this. Not until a hand reached out to him did know this; He was not alone. Male OC centric. Yaoi warning.
1. Nothing but a Coward

The Fallen  
>Kitty: afsfhahsafjsfhg instead of updating my stories I decided to post this new story up. e.e;; I'm a bad person. Yes this will be a yaoi and OC centric. If you hate either of those please leave for this story is not right for you.<br>xxxxxxx  
>Disclaimer: I do not own persona3 or any of the other personas. Just my character and my plot.<br>xxxxxxxx  
>Warning: beware of the usage of scenes and battles from the game. I put a disclaimer on those as well.<br>xxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
>-first time writing out a story on my phone. Feel free to point out mistakes I made.-<br>Begin!

_Scared._ That's how he felt right now.

Scared and alone. He wanted to cry out for help. Call out for a hand to reach out and help him. H e didn't know how to explain what was happening though, what was going on with him. He couldn't explain what exactly happened that night, but it seems whatever happened kept repeating itself every night since the day it began. It sounded too bizarre even to himself, so why would anyone believe him. Now he was scared. He dreaded the next night and the next. Dreaded those...those nightmares. Why is this happening to him? He wasn't exactly the bravest kid. He wasn't even a brave kid at that matter.

Soru took a look around him. He had unconsciously dragged himself up to the roof of Gekkoukan High School and he knew why he was here. Gulping down his fears he walked over to the railing and looked down. That would be a high fall.

High enough to ensure instant death.

_A coward._ That's all he was. That's all he'd ever be.

He was a coward; a coward who resorts to self-inflicted death as a means of getting away from this nightmare. He would do anything to get away from that. To not see those horrible things every night. To never fear for his life every night. Taking one last look over the railing, he swallowed his breath.

'I should do this before I chicken out' he thought to himself as he swung a leg over the railing.

It's ok. He thought to himself. There's no one who would miss him. He swung his other leg over the railing.

No relative that would miss him. _No Parents. _He was truly alone.

"I'm such a coward." he whispered to himself as he pulled his body over the railing until he was standing on the other side of the railing, inches from what would be his fatal doom. He gripped the railing with all his might until his knuckles turned white. Tears sprang out of his eyes as he trembled. He was such a coward.

'_This isn't right.'_

But there was no turning back now. He was already up here… he might as well do it.

He didn't noticed the alarmed voice calling out to him as he let go of the railing, his heart pounding too loudly. He didn't hear the footsteps running closer to him as he let himself fall forward. He didn't register the strong arm wrap around his torso before he passed out. The arms gave him a weird feeling though. But there was only one thought that ran through his head as he passed out.

_'I'm such a coward.'_

-page break-

_The darkness._

That dreaded darkness. It's all he could see. It was all he ever feared. It scared him to the core how dark the world was sometimes. How… how cruel the world was.

The darkness that he was currently in. He wanted out…

_He wanted out so badly._

In the darkness he saw surrounding him, he heard hushed voices. What they were saying he couldn't hear. He was too focused on the fear he felt. He felt himself wanting to shake in fear, but felt himself too scared to even move at all. What he was more worried about was the darkness surrounding him rather then what he was hearing. They reminded him of those things. As he took a good look around him, one question ran in his head. Did he die? Is this what happens when one dies? They live in the thing they fear?

Suddenly he saw eyes. Those dreaded red eyes of a creature he came across too frequently. The creature that took everything away from him; the creature of his nightmare. It stared at him sizing him up before slithering its way to him at its fast pace. He couldn't move. He was too terrified. It got closer and closer as Soru's heart quickened in panic and fear. It latched itself onto him. Soru cried out. It stared at him before trying to swallowing him up.

Just like it did to do to his parents, who disappeared after obtaining the dreaded Apathy Syndrome.

Soru struggled and whimpered. He was a coward. And he was terrified.

Suddenly he felt a jolted. Suddenly the black world he was in was beginning to get brighter. The monster had let go of him and slithered back into the darkness as the world around him started to brighten.

_What…What's happening?_

A voice. He heard a voice. Soru struggled to hear what it was saying.

_Wake up…!_

Wake up? Where was he? Is he going to heaven now…?

_Soru…! Wake…. Now!_

That sounded like sempai's voice. It was sounded closer.

"Hey! Wake up!" cried a voice familiar to him. 'Huh?' he felt an earthquake. Was someone shaking him?

"Soru! Wake up! It's just a dream!" cried the voice. Then white light started to fill Soru's vision.

As he opened his eyes, Soru screamed as he jolted up, his vision still overtaken by the brightness. Soru waited a little for his eyes to adjust before looking around He was at the school's nurse's office. . It was a dream… A horrible dream. Terrifying even. But it was still a dream. Soru didn't know whether he should be relieved or disappointed. He's not dead… he'll see those terrifying creatures again. He'll have to live in fear for another day. And the next day, and so on.

He could have sworn he was dead though. He remembered jumping. He remembered the wind rushing passed his ears as he jumped off. But then he remembered, for a split second, the arms can saved him from his early demise.

_The arms that would soon save his life a few too many times._

"Soru.." said a familiar voice in a low tone, as Soru turned his head to the left to see...

"Akihiko-senpai?" Soru choked out in shock. He was the one who saved him? Soru flinched and looked guiltily away as he saw the anger that shone in Akihiko's eyes. Why the guilt? Maybe it was because Akihiko had witnessed him trying to kill himself. He felt ashamed for letting the temptation tempt him to do so. But he felt that it was the only way.

"What the hell were you doing up there?" Akihiko exclaimed angrily as he looked at his under classmate.

"I..." Soru started but he was unable to think of a logical response. Akihiko sempai had clearly seen him jump off the roof. There was no way to slide past this. He didn't know what to say. Should he start with an apology? But… what is he apologizing for? Akihiko continued to scold him.

"I go up there to enjoy some fresh air and I see my sparring partner over the railing trying the commit suicide!" Oh yea. Soru was on the boxing team with Akihiko-senpai.

"What were you thinking?" Akihiko cried angrily at Soru, who stared at the blanket in front of him looking ashamed. Akihiko frowned as he got no reply from Soru and he made to get up.

"I'm reporting this to Mitsuru." he informed as he started to walk away. Soru's eyes widened and his arm shot up faster then he thought possible and made to grip the silverette's wrist.

"Gah! No! Please don't Akihiko-senpai!" he exclaimed slightly in fear. He knew Mitsuru wouldn't be too kind with the questioning. She scared him a little. Something about her scared him. Akihiko frowned and sat back down next to the black haired boy.

"Then you better start answering my questions Soru. Understand?" he said firmly but tried to be gentle so that Soru wouldn't do anything stupid if he were frightened in the current state he was in. Soru bit his lip and nodded. Akihiko looked at him, clearly angry.

"What were you thinking?" he asked. Soru bit his lip.

"That I could escape it all..." he answered quietly to himself, but Akihiko heard him.

"Did you consider what would have happened if you succeeded?" he asked.

" You know how your friends would feel?" Akihiko asked sternly. Soru shook his head.

"I don't have any friends…No one would miss me." He really didn't. He said it quietly, but Akihiko's sharp ears picked up what he said.

"What?" Akihiko.

"Who wants to be friends with someone who has parents with Apathy Syndrome?" Soru asked back. Everyone was scared of Apathy Syndrome. So why talk to a kid who lost his parents to that illness? Akihiko sighed.

"Well I'm your friend. Did you think about how I would feel?" he asked. Soru was at a loss of words. The senpai he admired considered him a friend. Soru couldn't help but feel happy, but then guilty brought him back down.

"No..." he answered. He wasn't thinking about the outcome when he did that. He just...acted. He heard Akihiko sigh.

"Why did you try to do it Soru?" Akihiko asked. More to himself, but Soru knew he still had to answer this. But...what if his answer made Akihiko think he was crazy!

Noticing Soru's sudden silence, Akihiko decided to help him form an answer.

"Are you being bullied?" Akihiko asked, hoping for a response. He got a response as Soru shook his head.

"Family problems?" Soru shook us head again.

"Stress?" This time Soru shrugged. Okay so Akihiko got his answer

"Somewhat." Okay. Not really the answer he was looking for.

"Then what?" Akihiko's tone changed. Soru could hear the tone change. He sounded more worried than angry now. Soru shook his head.

"You'd think I'm crazy." Soru answered truthfully as he looked at the senpai he respected. Akihiko sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"It's not crazy if it drove you to try and commit suicide." Akihiko reasoned. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" he snapped, his angry tone back. Soru flinched a bit.

"Why?" he asked quietly. When Akihiko raised an eyebrow, a mere sign that showed he didn't fully understand the question, Soru stared at the silverette in the eye and rephrased his question.

"Why are you worried about me? I'm nothing but a hopeless coward who would resort to such a low action to get away from things, and I'm not even a good sparring partner. I don't deserve to be cared about senpai." he said wincing at how true he thought those words to be. Akihiko furrowed his eyebrows and frowned at Soru's words.

"I worry because I care and because I'm your friend." he said. "Plus I think you are a great sparring partner. You think more with strategy rather than mindless fist swinging." Akihiko said. "I just wish that you used your brain this time." Soru looked at him sheepishly.

"I'm sorry Akihiko-senpai." Soru apologized. Akihiko smiled a little but then frowned.

"Tell me why Soru." Akihiko ordered rather then ask. Soru looked away.

"I was scared..." he said. Akihiko raised an eyebrow.

"Of?" he asked, coaxing Soru to give him his answer in more detail. Soru pondered on whether to tell him what he feared. He didn't want his senpai to think he was crazy. But then again, he didn't want his senpai to be angry at him when he doesn't answer. Soru sighed and looked straight into Akihiko's eyes.

"That green hour after midnight." Soru answered. He saw Akihiko's face register an emotion of shock as he stared at Soru in disbelief.

-TBC-  
>Kitty: well I was g persona when this spiraled into my brain and I was tempted to write it. I can't stop my temptation. I wrote this first chapter on my phone. At night. In bed. When I should be sleeping. e0e;;<p>

Kiki: please read and review for next chapter? Criticize my grammar and spelling of you must. Never the plot or the character/pairing.


	2. Not even a Persona

Kitty: Pfffff Sorry for the long wait. o3o I got too lazy to do anything except eat, sleep and school xD And… basically since I'm a nooblet at English and writing and whatnot, I am sorry in advance for my crappy English xD

=Continued=

Soru watched as Akihiko's face registered in shock. 'I knew it. No one believes me.' Soru thought as he inhaled sharply. Of course no one would believe him! It's too…too absurd! An extra hidden hour? Who'd believe that? Soru had seen it for his own eyes. While he was the only one that was awake during that dark hour, he had seen everyone else disappear into those coffins. Soru scratched his cheek.

"You… I-I'm just kidding!" Soru nervously chuckled. He didn't want Akihiko to think that he was crazy. Anyone but Akihiko. He was a nice guy… and a good friend. Maybe Soru's first so far. Akihiko looked at Soru.

"What?" Akihiko asked. Soru waved his hands in dismissal.

"I-It's a joke! A joke! I mean… You didn't believe that do you?" Soru asked nervously. Of course he wouldn't. Why would anyone believe anything so absur-

"I did." Soru froze. "Wait.. what?" Soru asked, just to make sure he wasn't hearing things. Akihiko-senpai didn't just say what Soru think he said. Did he? Akihiko raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean what Soru? I believe you." Akihiko said. Soru shook his head.

"D-Don't play around with me Akihiko-senpai!" Soru exclaimed flailing his hand up and down in Akihiko's direction. "Don't you say that you believe that and then trick me! Y-You think it's a joke don't you?" Akihiko took hold of Soru's flailing hand and gripped it.

"Calm down Soru!" Soru reclaimed his arm.

"No! Y-You're just fooling me! You don't really believe me!" Soru exclaimed. Akihiko started to get mad.

"What makes you so sure of yourself?" he asked. Soru bit the inside of his cheek.

"Doesn't it all sound like a joke to you? Who would believe that there is another hour after midnight and before one? Why would you believe something like that? Are you making fun-"

"I see it too! Akihiko shouted. Soru froze.

"Wha-"

"I see it as well. We call it the Dark Hour." Akihiko explained, now that he finally got through to the teen.

"Dark Hour…?" Soru repeated. 'All of this… sounds like a game…'he thought, but then something else Akihiko said confused him. "W-Wait we?" he asked. We? There were more people going through this? He wasn't alone?

"Yes. You're not the only one who experiences this." Soru blinked. He… wasn't alone? He felt alone though…

"Looks like I AM reporting this to Mitsuru."

"E-E-EH! Why do we have to let Mitsuru know?" Soru exclaimed. He felt a chill run down his spine at the punishment Mitsuru would bestow on him.

"You'll find out if you come with me." Akihiko told Soru. Soru gulped.

"S-She's going to kill me!" Soru whined. Akihiko laughed and ruffled Soru's hair a little.

"Don't worry about it. I won't mention the fact that you almost killed yourself." Akihiko frowned at the last part and Soru winced mumbling yet another apology. Then he came to realize. Akihiko was going to tell Mitsuru about the Dark Hour? Why would he do that? Mitsuru would surely think that he was crazy! Unless… Soru's eyes widened.

"W-Wait! Why Mitsuru! She… She can…?" Soru couldn't finish so Akihiko helped him.

"She knows as well." Soru's eyes began to tear up a little. All this time… The times where he cuddle up in a corner all alone. The times that he felt alone. Run away from those creatures alone and hide alone… He wasn't alone in this at all? There were other people who know about this… and now Soru felt incredibly stupid.

"I… didn't know." Soru was overwhelmed by feelings. Some of which he couldn't identify. But now he knew he wasn't alone. "I thought I was going crazy…" _I'm not alone. _

Akihiko smiled a little at Soru. "You're not alone. You just didn't know." He said gently. Soru looked at Akihiko confused.

"Why us?" he asked. Akihiko raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon?"

"Why is there a dark hour?" he asked. But that wasn't really what he wanted to ask. "Why am I experiencing it? Why are we seeing it?" Soru looked down at his hands. "Are we.. special or just crazy?" Akihiko chuckled at Soru's train of thoughts and Soru glared at him.

"It's not funny! I'm being serious!" Soru exclaimed pouting. Akihiko grinned. "I think we're just special. We can do something about it." Soru blinked.

"Do something…?" Akihiko nodded.

"Here. Why don't you stay at my dorm for today?" Soru blinked.

"Huh?"

"So that I can make sure that you don't do anything reckless again." Akihiko said frowning at Soru. "What you can't come? You might find out around how many other people experience this." Soru looked stupidly at Akihiko.

"I…it's not that I can't go it's just…umm I have a problem with…It's just that… I feel uncomfortable talking to strangers." He was very a really social butterfly. No one wanted to speak with him, so he never learned how to deal with other people. Even in boxing team kept a distance. Soru didn't even know why he joined in the first place. Oh right. He wanted to learn how to defend himself when trying to deal with those monsters. But he found himself to scared to actually face them. Akihiko broke Soru out of his thoughts.

"Well you'll be surprised to see many familiar faces." Soru blinked. Familiar faces…?

"Familiar face…?" he asked, to which Akihiko motioned to follow him. "You'll see soon enough."

-Pagebreak-

Akihiko and Soru were back at Akihiko's dorm, and it looked like no one was back yet. Still, Soru couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Relax. None of them will bite you, you know." Akihiko joked. Soru glared slightly back at Akihiko.

"I'm just nervous. What if I embarrass myself in front of them?"

"I'm sure they won't mind if you do."

"Gee. That made me feel better. Now I KNOW I'm going to screw up."

"I'm introducing you to people that you already saw before, not the president of a company." Soru sighed. Akihiko was right. But now Soru was curious. He knew them? According to Akihiko, besides Mitsuru there were four other people on the team. Three of which Soru should know. But who were they? Soru ran by faces in his brain trying to figure out who they'd be. Maybe some kids in his team? But wouldn't they be more understanding to people who's parents have Apathy Syndrome?

Maybe his classmates? But what would he know? None of them talk to him. He was just a speck in the room. A dust particle. Even the teacher doesn't call on him, well… not that he wants to be called on. He might get answers wrong.

"You're spacing out again." Akihiko pointed out as he set out an extra futon on the floor for Soru.

"I'm just curious… Who are they? And how do I know them?" He was dying to know.

"I think it's more fun to see your reaction when you see them." Soru sighed and drooped his shoulders.

"That's it. I'm definitely going to look stupid."

Soon enough they heard the door open and a few more voices down the stairs. The other residences have arrived home. Soru freaked out. "W-Wait! Outsiders are not allowed in other dorms!" Soru exclaimed hushedly. Akihiko sighed.

"Relax. It's already taken care of more than you know." Akihiko motioned for Soru to follow him. "Come on. Let's introduce you to familiar faces. Mitsuru already knows about you since I reported this to her already."

-Pagebreak-

The look on Soru's face was a mix of shock and utter disbelief as he stared stupidly at three people. They were in his class! Yukari stared at him worriedly.

"Is he going to be alright? He looks like he went into shock."

"Oh he's fine. He just never knew there were other people like him." A sharp pat on the back by Akihiko was all it took for Soru to snap out of his little trance.

"Hello…" He didn't know what else to say. It's not like he personally talked to them before, but he had seen them in class and conversing with Akihiko and Mitsuro quite some times so their faces were burned into his memory. He should have guessed it was them though.

Junpei went up to Soru and grinned.

"Hiya. Nice to meet you." He grinned, well of course he would not remember Soru from his class. Hardly anyone recognized him. Junpei looked at him funny.

"Huh… you look kind of familiar. Have we met before?" he asked. Okay so he remembered him a little. Before Soru could shrug his answer, someone else answered for him.

"He's in our class." It came from the blue haired occupant of the room. Soru remembered that he was a transfer student not too long ago. Minato was his name, if he could trust his memory. Junpei looked puzzled.

"Eh? Are you sure? Well now that you mention it… I do kinda sorta maybe remember seeing him in class." Yukari scoffed.

"Really now? Stupei, even I know he's from our class. You should remember your classmates by now. You even claimed to know everyone." Junpei frowned.

"Stop calling me that! And I never claimed that!"

A green haired girl walked up to Soru and held out her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm not sure I caught your name yet." Oh right… he didn't introduce himself yet. Soru kicked himself.

"It's Soru. My name is Soru… Soru Tsukiakari."

"And my name is Fuka Yamagishi." Mitsuro walked up to Soru.

"So I heard that you've been experiencing the Dark Hours by yourself?" Soru didn't know what needed to be said, so he just nodded. Mitsuro nodded a little.

"Hmm. For how long?" Soru shrugged.

"U-Umm…after my thirteenth birthday I think… What are those things called? Those black gooey looking monsters?"

"We call them shadows. And one can't fight them without a persona." Soru blinked.

"A… persona?" Misturo nodded.

"But to call out one's persona," she reached into a bag. "One who need this." He handed a gun to Soru. Soru's eyes widened. "This is…!" Misturo chuckled.

"Don't worry. It's not a real gun." Soru looked at it confused.

"Keep it for protection. But in the mean time, Akihiko take Soru upstairs and get prepared. The dark hours is just a few moments away. We're not going to Tartarus, but we must be prepared for anything that might happen." Akihiko nodded and turned around, back in the direction of his dorm.

"Where's the chairman?" Akihiko asked. Chairman? This dorm had a chairman?

"He has some important business to tend to, so he'll won't be here until later." Akihiko nodded.

"Soru let's go." Soru was confused as he bowed to the others and went off with Akihiko.

"T-Tartarus? Sounds like something from greek mythology." Akihiko chuckled.

"It's also the nesting ground of the shadows. They seem to gather there a lot. Me and the other are investigating Tartarus to see if it has a connection with the dark hour."

"Mitsuro said'Get prepared.' What's happening?"

"You're sure one of many questions." Soru blushed and frowned.

"Well sorry for being curious."

"Woah didn't mean to upset you. Well shadows can show up about anywhere. While this dorm is the safest from a shadow attack, it doesn't mean it can't get attacked any minute." Akihiko checked his wrist watch. "It's almost time."

Soru wasn't surprised anymore when the scenery changed to a greenish color. He knew it was 'that time' again. But he wasn't really looking forward to seeing the monsters again. Akihiko obviously didn't like waiting around.

"Hmm. Come on." Soru blinked.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to check on the situation outside. You coming with?" Akihiko asked staring at Soru. Soru's eyes widened.

"But the shadows…"

"Don't worry. We can take them on. But to be on the safe side, take this." Akihiko handed Soru a pair of brass knuckles. Soru stared at the weapons and looked at Akihiko.

"I.. I can't." Soru breathed out.

"You don't have to be scared. This might be a way to help you overcome your fears. I remember when I found Junpei outside a store crying like a baby." Akihiko chuckled at the memory and Soru couldn't help but snort. He felt bad for Junpei, but that image was too funny NOT to laugh at.

"And now look at him now. He's a S.E.E.S member and he kicks but with the rest of us." Soru thought about it. Did he want to confront the very things that frightened him? Soru took a deep breath and put the brass knuckles on.

"I… don't want to live in fear anymore…" he had his answer. Akihiko smiled at Soru.

"A good decision. Let's go." He didn't know if facing these things would erase his fears but, it was better than living in fear and thinking he wasn't able to do anything. They went back downstairs, where Mitsuro was keeping watchout. She raised an brow at them.

"We're going to patrol around the town." Mitsuro's face hardened.

"Akihiko. Soru is new to this. Do you think it's wise to let him come with you? He might drag you down." Well there goes Soru's self esteem. Mitsuro could be so harsh and not know it sometimes.

"It might be a good idea to give him some hands on experience."

"One wrong move might cost him his life." Mitsuro looked at Soru.

"Soru." Soru straightened himself, his eyes widened.

"Y-Yes Mitsuro sempai?"

"Are you sure you are ready for this?" Soru scratched the back of his head.

"I'm going to have to confront them either way… so might as well do it now."

"Ha! Those are very brave words!" Where did Junpei come from? Soru and Akihiko turned around and saw the rest of the team behind them. Junpei smiled.

"Ohh patrolling the city during the dark hour? Count me in. Hey leader. You're coming too aren't you?" Junpei asked looking straight at Minato, and from the tone of his voice, Soru was sure Junpei was a bit jealous about Minato's position. Minato shrugged. Junpei took it as a yes.

"Of course you are." Junpei said grinning. Yukari sighed.

"Well now you shouldn't have a problem with this Mitsuro sempai, since there are more people to babysit the newcomer." Babysit? Bye bye already low self esteem. Mitsuro hummed a little.

"Very well. Just make sure you're safe." Fuka smiled.

"I'll support you guys through the communicator." Soru raised an eyebrow.

"Communicator?"

"Oh you don't have one because you're not a member, But we use those to feed information to our teammates." Yukari handed Soru an ear piece.

"Here you can borrow mine since you're going along with the rest of them." Soru thanked her and she smiled. Mitsuro obviously didn't like the idea that someone outside the team had a piece of equipment but sighed.

"Just make it back safely."

-pagebreak-

The group of four made it outside of the dormitory and looked around.

"Well might as well check around Tartarus." Soru blinked.

"Where's that?" Junpei grinned at Soru and held a thumbs up.

"It's a cool place to hunt for shadows!" Soru sweatdropped. Was this the same person that Akihiko found crying outside a store? Akihiko rolled his eyes.

"You might be surprised where Tartarus is located." Akihiko said as he guided them to the direction of Tartarus. Soru was puzzled when he recognized this route. This was the route to the school! Wait… what's going on? Once they reached what Soru assumed was Tartarus, Soru was highly confused.

"This is… Tartarus?" Akihiko nodded.

"But… what happened to our school?"

"We don't know why, But our school transforms into this when it's the Dark Hour." Akihiko also saw the way Soru looked at Tartarus.

"We're not going inside today, so relax a little." Soru's eyes widened as he composed himself.

"Was it… that obvious?" Junpei laughed.

"You were literally paling by the second, Tsuki!" Soru was a bit taken back.

"Tsuki…?"

"Yea it's part of your last name right? I think it sounds cool. If you don't mind." Soru blinked. And if he did?

"I don't mind…" might as well let Junpei have his fun. Akihiko motioned for them to follow him.

"Let's take a look around the area. We might find a good batch to train on." Soru shivered a little. He did _not _want that.

"Hey relax a little." Soru looked to his left and saw Minato looking at him. Was he really that tensed? Soru smiled a little at Minato.

"I'm fine… thanks." Minato nodded his head, showing he heard him and they started walking around the area.

All of a sudden, Soru felt a familiar chill run down his spine. Soru didn't know why but he was always able to sense when the monsters were around. Soru looked around, he could have sworn he saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at him beyond those bushes, but when he blinked it had disappeared. That's what frightened him.

"What's wrong?" Soru pulled his eyes away from the bush and turned to his team.

"Nothing… I thought I saw something." He didn't think he sounded convincing enough, but they bought it and continued to look around the area. Soru would have jumped in fright at the voice that rang in his ear, until he realized that it was coming from the communicator.

"Guys! I'm picking up a bunch of shadows coming your way! Please be careful!" Came Fuka's voice. The other three got into fighting position, and looked all ways for the shadows. Soru felt the chill again and turned around, only to see a blur come running at him. He dodged to the side to avoid it.

"A shadow?" he exclaimed, as he turned around. Confirming that it was a shadow, the group started attacking it with their weapons, before Akihiko pulled out his gun and aimed for his own head. Soru was shocked and yelled at him.

"Wait what are y-"

BANG!

Next to Akihiko stood a..thing. It had long blonde hair, a buff looking build and a… drill looking thing on its right hand. Soru blinked stupidly. He then remembered what Mitsuro said. Soru felt the gun in his pocket. So that's how someone draws out a persona… by shooting themselves in the head?

Akihiko ordered it to attack and it dealt a massive blow to the shadow, causing it to die and vanish. Soru touched his own gun which he put in his pocket. There's no way he would be able to do it.

Once the wave of monsters were defeated by the team, Soru was already breaking sweat. He shook the black substance from the monsters off his hand. Maybe this was helping him face his fears. Soru looked at Akihiko.

"These guns.. they draw out personas right…?" Soru looked at his other teammates.

"All of you have.. personas?" A nod from their heads confirmed it.

"How can you tell if you have a persona…?" Akihiko shrugged.

"Well if you're living the dark hour, chances are you have the potential of drawing out a persona." Soru took out his gun and looked at it.

"Do you have to shoot yourself to draw it out?" Junpei smirked.

"Aww you scared?" he teased. Soru couldn't deny he wasn't.

"Of course I am!" Junpei laughed and placed an arm around Soru.

"Come on dude. Toughen up! How bad can it be?" Soru glared but looked at his gun.

"What if you don't have a persona…?" he asked. Junpei smiled.

"Oh that's impossible! I'm sure you have on residing inside of you! I mean.. look at me! Who would have thought I had a persona?"

"Certainly not me. You WERE crying when I found you." Soru snorted a little and Minato even smiled a little.

"Hey hey we don't have to get into detail."

Fuka's voice came into the communicator again.

"Guys! I'm picking up a reading on one enemy coming towards you." They got into fighting position. "Careful. This one is stronger then the others." Soru flinched. Stronger? The ones they already faced were already stamina consuming!

Not a few moments later, they saw their target. Junpei gasped and took a few steps back.

"N-No way!" Soru took a lot of steps back. What stood before him frightened him. It looked like death itself. A grim reaper.

Fuka's voice came back on the communicator.

"Calm down! It's not Death, his readings are too weak. He might be trying to mimic Death to scare you guys."

"Well it sure worked." Junpei said as he took his stance again.

"I'll read it's weaknesses, but it'll take some time."

Minato took out his gun and pointed it at his own head.

"Orpheus!"BANG!

A white haired figure with a harp on his back, appeared next to Minato. Soru assumed that it's name was Orpheus since that's what Minato had screamed before shooting himself.

"Fire!" Orpheus took his harp from his back and strummed it, somehow able to cast fire. It didn't look like the fire did much damage on the Mimic shadow. Next, Soru saw Junpei's persona which looked like it was in a metal body suit with a winged helmet and winged boots. Junpei told it to charge at the monster, but it didn't do as much damage as Junpei and the others hoped. Soru went to attack it with his fist, the shadow roared and blasted Soru back after he laid a few hits. Physical damage seemed out of the question, as Soru got up on his feet. There goes his assistance…Akihiko summoned his persona again and told it to cast zio. Thunder fell down and attacked the shadow. It was good damage, but it wasn't enough. The shadow roared and rushed forwarded and attacked everyone. Soru was lucky enough to dodge the attack, but the same couldn't be said for everyone else, as they were knocked on their feet.

Soru felt his gun. Did he had to? There was no other choice if he wanted to save everyone. But there might be a chance he doesn't have a persona… what happened to him then? Soru didn't feel like playing a gambling game. It felt like he was playing Russian roulette with himself. The shadow stared at him, as Soru hesitated. Well how civilized of the shadow… Soru joked. With trembling hands, Soru reached into his pocket to take out his gun.

Shaken, Soru put the gun at his temple. Sweat ran down his forehead as he cocked the gun. As the others struggled to get up, from the blow they took, Soru shook. Seeing that Soru was vunerable, the shadow reared his head back and then faced Soru, rushing at him. Akihiko's alarmed voice was the last thing Soru heard before he pulled the trigger.

BANG!

Akihiko looked at Soru expecting a persona to come out. It never did. Soru just dropped to his knees, appearing to be knocked out, The mimic shadow held his hand out to deal a blow to Soru's prone body. Akihiko waited the dreaded moments as the clawed hand made it's way closer to Soru, before it stopped in its place. As everyone else seemed to stare in shock, Soru rose from his kneeling position and stared coldly at the shadow. Akihiko looked at Soru's eyes. Something was definitely off.

Instead of seeing Soru's normally blue eyes, Akihiko saw himself staring into, divine glowing purple eyes. Soru, or whatever was taking over Soru, looked coldly at the Shadow, as it tried to draw its hand back from the invisible force.

Soru waved his hands and mumbled a spell. Suddenly the mimic was surrounded by the power of light, a high lvled Light spell to boost. The mimic Shadow shrieked as it was overtaken by the light and died, vanishing. Akihiko rose to his feet, and took a cautious step toward Soru.

"Soru?" Those divine purple eyes stared at Akihiko, before it sent a spell at Akihiko, thinking that Akihiko was another enemy. Akihiko luckily dodged it in time.

"Wait! Soru! It's me, Akihiko!" he tried to reason, tried to draw Soru back to consciousness. The thing that possessed Soru faltered a little.

"In the name of my master, I will relinquish all the evil forces." It spoke in Soru's voice. Junpei held his hands up.

"Woah there! We're not bad! We're friends of Soru!" Possessed Soru didn't move.

"Friends?" and with that Soru's eyes slowly changed back until Soru's blue eyes replace the purple eyes. Soru then collapsed as Akihiko made way to catch Soru before he fell to the ground.

"Hey Soru! Can you hear me? Soru!" Too bad Soru couldn't hear him.

"What happened?" Fuka asked from the communicator. Akihiko picked Soru up.

"I don't know. But we're coming back. Keep a looking out for shadows!" Akihiko ordered the other two as they ran as fast as they could back to the dorms. But they were all thinking the same thing; What just happened?

-Pagebreak-

Akihiko sat with the rest of the S.E.E.S team as they discussed what happened. Chairman Shuji spoke up.

"Hmm. Interesting. He used the gun but no persona came out?" Akihiko shook his head.

"But he got possessed." The chairman hummed.

"Strange indeed. Then I can draw the conclusion that the boy doesn't have a persona." Yukari gasped.

"That's impossible! Why would he be able to live the dark hour if he is unable to produce a persona?" The chairman held out his hand to silence Yukari.

"But I don't have a persona as well, but I'm able to live it." Akihiko sighed.

"He hasn't woken up in a week."

"Hey not to be a pessimist but… Tsuki's not going to die is he?" Junpei asked. The chairman chuckled and shook his head.

"He got possessed and from what you told me, he casted a high lvled Light spell. Maybe his body couldn't take and he's recovering?"

-Pagebreak-

Soru found himself surrounded in darkness again. He doesn't welcome it, but neither does he reject it. He found himself less frightened. Well maybe that was a lie. Because Soru was still frightened about how alone he was in this darkness.

\Alone/

That was the one thing he didn't want to be familiar with anymore. Soru remembered the S.E.E.S team. Sure he feels awkward with them, but never alone. He had been alone his entire life, after his parents disappeared. It's not like they disappeared because they felt like it. They had come down with Apathy Syndrome and haven't been themselves. Then, they disappeared. Soru looked everywhere for his parents, his last support. But they were gone.

Soru looked around at the darkness. He wanted to go back. Suddenly he felt the darkness begin to lighten up.

Soru felt himself stir awake and blinked a little. He was in a hospital room it seemed. Soru slowly sat up, his muscles screaming as they protested from moving. The door then opened and Soru saw Akihiko come in. Akihiko's eyes widened a little as he saw that Soru was awake and walked up to him.

"Hey."

"Hey Akihiko-sempai." Akihiko sighed.

"JHey Soru. Do you remember what happened the other day? You know, during the dark hour?" Soru thought hard about it.

"I remember us patrolling around Tartarus that night and running into a few shadows." Akihiko nodded.

"Anything else?" he asked. Soru thought a little.

"I remember that we ran into a tough shadow. A mimic shadow I think. And we were losing. And then I put that gun to my head and… pulled the trigger." Akihiko nodded.

"Do you remember anything after that?" he asked, hoping Soru had the answers he was looking for. He was met with disappointment. SAOru shook his head.

"I don't remember anything after that…"

=TBC=

Kitty: Sorry for the LONGGGG wait. Argh. Got so lazy and decided to sleep after getting home from school. But since it's almost summer, I have more time to not be lazy.

Read and Review please? It'll keep me motivated.


	3. Important Notice

Not a new Chapter. But a notice.

I did not plan this story out in my head when I wrote it. But now that I'm putting thought in it, I realized how many flaws in both writting and characters the story contained.

I decided to rewrite the entire thing from scratch. For those that are still actively following this story, I apologize for not being active, but now that I'm back, I will do my best to update this story along with all my other stories. I would like many of you to start reading and reviewing for it keeps me actively involved in the story and not constantly lose focus on my writing!

For those who are really interested in this story, please check in with my profilefor the revised version which I uploaded a few moments ago. And please bare with me if I take a long time to update, but I will try to update as often as I can!

Thank you,

Nyarghh


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